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https://github.com/bruce/node-temp

Temporary File, Directory, and Stream support for Node.js
https://github.com/bruce/node-temp

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Temporary File, Directory, and Stream support for Node.js

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README 

        
![Image of node-temp logo](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bruce/node-temp/master/media/A5.jpg)

=========



Temporary files, directories, and streams for Node.js.



Handles generating a unique file/directory name under the appropriate

system temporary directory, changing the file to an appropriate mode,

and supports automatic removal (if asked)



`temp` has a similar API to the `fs` module.



Node.js Compatibility

---------------------



Supports v6.0.0+.



[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/bruce/node-temp.png)](https://travis-ci.org/bruce/node-temp)



Please let me know if you have problems running it on a later version of Node.js or

have platform-specific problems.



Installation

------------



Install it using [npm](http://github.com/isaacs/npm):



    $ npm install temp



Or get it directly from:

http://github.com/bruce/node-temp



Synopsis

--------



You can create temporary files with `open` and `openSync`, temporary

directories with `mkdir` and `mkdirSync`, or you can get a unique name

in the system temporary directory with `path`.



See the [API section](https://github.com/bruce/node-temp#API) for more details on the API of `temp`.



Working copies of the following examples can be found under the

`examples` directory.



### Temporary Files (`open` and `openSync`)



To create a temporary file use `open` or `openSync`, passing

them an optional prefix, suffix, or both (see below for details on

affixes). The object passed to the callback (or returned) has

`path` and `fd` keys:



```javascript

{ path: "/path/to/file",

, fd: theFileDescriptor

}

```



In this example we write to a temporary file and call out to `grep` and

`wc -l` to determine the number of time `foo` occurs in the text.  The

temporary file is chmod'd `0600` and cleaned up automatically when the

process at exit (because `temp.track()` is called):



```javascript

var temp = require('temp'),

    fs   = require('fs'),

    util  = require('util'),

    exec = require('child_process').exec;



// Automatically track and cleanup files at exit

temp.track();



// Fake data

var myData = "foo\nbar\nfoo\nbaz";



// Process the data (note: error handling omitted)

temp.open('myprefix', function(err, info) {

  if (!err) {

    fs.write(info.fd, myData, (err) => {

		console.log(err);

	});

    fs.close(info.fd, function(err) {

      exec("grep foo '" + info.path + "' | wc -l", function(err, stdout) {

        util.puts(stdout.trim());

      });

    });

  }

});

```



### Want Cleanup? Make sure you ask for it. (`track`)



As noted in the example above, if you want temp to track the files and

directories it creates and handle removing those files and directories

on exit, you must call `track()`. The `track()` function is chainable,

and it's recommended that you call it when requiring the module.



```javascript

var temp = require("temp").track();

```



Why is this necessary? In pre-0.6 versions of temp, tracking was

automatic. While this works great for scripts and

[Grunt tasks](http://gruntjs.com/), it's not so great for long-running

server processes. Since that's arguably what Node.js is _for_, you

have to opt-in to tracking.



But it's easy.



#### Cleanup anytime (`cleanup`, `cleanupSync`)



When tracking, you can run `cleanup()` and `cleanupSync()` anytime

(`cleanupSync()` will be run for you on process exit). An object will

be returned (or passed to the callback) with cleanup counts and

the file/directory tracking lists will be reset.



```javascript

> temp.cleanupSync();

{ files: 1,

  dirs:  0 }

```



```javascript

> temp.cleanup(function(err, stats) {

    console.log(stats);

  });

{ files: 1,

  dirs:  0 }

```



Note: If you're not tracking, an error ("not tracking") will be passed

to the callback.



### Temporary Directories (`mkdir`, `mkdirSync`)



To create a temporary directory, use `mkdir` or `mkdirSync`, passing

it an optional prefix, suffix, or both (see below for details on affixes).



In this example we create a temporary directory, write to a file

within it, call out to an external program to create a PDF, and read

the result.  While the external process creates a lot of additional

files, the temporary directory is removed automatically at exit (because

`temp.track()` is called):



```javascript

var temp = require('temp'),

    fs   = require('fs'),

    util = require('util'),

    path = require('path'),

    exec = require('child_process').exec;



// Automatically track and cleanup files at exit

temp.track();



// For use with ConTeXt, http://wiki.contextgarden.net

var myData = "\\starttext\nHello World\n\\stoptext";



temp.mkdir('pdfcreator', function(err, dirPath) {

  var inputPath = path.join(dirPath, 'input.tex')

  fs.writeFile(inputPath, myData, function(err) {

    if (err) throw err;

    process.chdir(dirPath);

    exec("texexec '" + inputPath + "'", function(err) {

      if (err) throw err;

      fs.readFile(path.join(dirPath, 'input.pdf'), function(err, data) {

        if (err) throw err;

        sys.print(data);

      });

    });

  });

});

```



### Temporary Streams (`createWriteStream`)



To create a temporary WriteStream, use 'createWriteStream', which sits

on top of `fs.createWriteStream`. The return value is a

`fs.WriteStream` with a `path` property containing the temporary file

path for the stream. The `path` is registered for removal when

`temp.cleanup` is called (because `temp.track()` is called).



```javascript

var temp = require('temp');



// Automatically track and cleanup files at exit

temp.track();



var stream = temp.createWriteStream();

// stream.path contains the temporary file path for the stream

stream.write("Some data");

// Maybe do some other things

stream.end();

```



### Affixes (options)



You can provide custom prefixes and suffixes when creating temporary

files and directories. If you provide a string, it is used as the prefix

for the temporary name. If you provide an object with `prefix`,

`suffix` and `dir` keys, they are used for the temporary name.



Here are some examples:



* `"aprefix"`: A simple prefix, prepended to the filename; this is

  shorthand for:

* `{prefix: "aprefix"}`: A simple prefix, prepended to the filename

* `{suffix: ".asuffix"}`: A suffix, appended to the filename

  (especially useful when the file needs to be named with specific

  extension for use with an external program).

* `{prefix: "myprefix", suffix: "mysuffix"}`: Customize both affixes

* `{dir: path.join(os.tmpdir(), "myapp")}`: default prefix and suffix

  within a new temporary directory.

* `null`: Use the defaults for files and directories (prefixes `"f-"`

  and `"d-"`, respectively, no suffixes).



In this simple example we read a `pdf`, write it to a temporary file with

a `.pdf` extension, and close it.



```javascript

var fs   = require('fs'),

    temp = require('temp');



fs.readFile('/path/to/source.pdf', function(err, data) {

  temp.open({suffix: '.pdf'}, function(err, info) {

    if (err) throw err;

    fs.write(info.fd, data, (err) => {

			console.log(err)

		});

    fs.close(info.fd, function(err) {

      if (err) throw err;

      // Do something with the file

    });

  });

});

```



### Just a path, please (`path`)



If you just want a unique name in your temporary directory, use

`path`:



```javascript

var fs = require('fs');

var tempName = temp.path({suffix: '.pdf'});

// Do something with tempName

```



Note: The file isn't created for you, and the mode is not changed  -- and it

will not be removed automatically at exit.  If you use `path`, it's

all up to you.



API

-------



```ts

interface OpenFile {

	path: string;

	fd: number;

}



interface Stats {

	files: number;

	dirs: number;

}



interface AffixOptions {

	prefix?: string;

	suffix?: string;

	dir?: string;

}



function track(value?: boolean): typeof temp;



function mkdir(affixes: string | AffixOptions | undefined, callback: (err: any, dirPath: string) => void): void;

function mkdir(affixes?: string | AffixOptions): Promise;



function mkdirSync(affixes?: string | AffixOptions): string;



function open(affixes: string | AffixOptions | undefined, callback: (err: any, result: OpenFile) => void): void;

function open(affixes?: string | AffixOptions): Promise;



function openSync(affixes?: string | AffixOptions): OpenFile;



function path(affixes?: string | AffixOptions, defaultPrefix?: string): string;



function cleanup(callback: (err: any, result: Stats) => void): void;

function cleanup(): Promise;



function cleanupSync(): boolean | Stats;



function createWriteStream(affixes?: string | AffixOptions): fs.WriteStream;

```



Testing

-------



```sh

$ npm test

```



Contributing

------------



You can find the repository at:

http://github.com/bruce/node-temp



Issues/Feature Requests can be submitted at:

http://github.com/bruce/node-temp/issues



I'd really like to hear your feedback, and I'd love to receive your

pull-requests!



Copyright

---------



Copyright (c) 2010-2014 Bruce Williams. This software is licensed

under the MIT License, see LICENSE for details.